Total ozone and ozonesonde data obtained in Sapporo (43 ¿N), Tsukuba (36 ¿N), Kagoshima (32 ¿N), and Naha (26 ¿N) since 1991 were analyzed to study the stratospheric ozone changes over Japan. It was found that sizable total ozone anomalies occurred in the winters of 1992/93 and 1994/95 at the four stations, although the duration and magnitude of the ozone decreases were different between the two periods. Ozone profiles showed increases in ozone concentration above 26 km in the winter of 1991/92 and the most pronounced ozone depletion in the winter of 1992/93 at the four stations. The altitude regions of significant ozone losses in Sapporo, Tsukuba, and Kagoshima in the winter of 1994/95 were higher than those in 1992/93. The latitudinal differences in the degree of ozone losses between 26 ¿N and 43 ¿N since 1991 are presented. The effects of the volcanic aerosol from the Pinatubo eruption and Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO) on total ozone are discussed. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996